IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 424 

Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to conservative 

environmental stewardship. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 

Mr. GIBSON (for himself, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. 

DOLD, Mr. HANNA, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Ms. STEFANIK, and Mr. 

LOBIONDO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives 

to conservative environmental stewardship. 

Whereas it is a conservative principle to protect, conserve, 

and be good stewards of our environment, responsibly 

plan for all market factors, and base our policy decisions 

in science and quantifiable facts on the ground; 

Whereas prudent, fact-based stewardship of our economy and 

our environment is a critical responsibility for all Americans in order to ensure that we preserve our great Nation 

for future generations; 

Whereas there has been a marked increase in extreme weather events across the United States, including more freVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR424.IH HR424

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•HRES 424 IH 

quent heat waves, extreme precipitation, wildfires, and 

water scarcity; 

Whereas this has had noticeable, negative impacts that are 

expected to worsen in every region of the United States 

and its territories, including, among other significant 

weather events and environmental disruptions, longer and 

hotter heat waves, more severe storms, worsening flood 

and drought cycles, growing invasive species and insect 

problems, threatened native plant and wildlife populations, rising sea levels, and, when combined with a lack 

of proper forest management, increased wildfire risk; 

Whereas increased pollutants and other factors contribute to 

local, regional, and national environmental and human 

health impacts, including increased mercury in the fish 

we eat, elevated asthma attacks in our children, acid 

rain, smog, degraded water quality, urban heat islands, 

and rapid storm water runoff that leads to costly infrastructure projects; 

Whereas the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review states that 

the effects of a changing climate are ‘‘threat multipliers 

that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social 

tensions’’; 

Whereas, if left unaddressed, the consequences of a changing 

climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans, hitting vulnerable populations hardest, harming 

productivity in key economic sectors such as construction, 

agriculture, and tourism, saddling future generations 

with costly economic and environmental burdens, and imposing additional costs on State and Federal budgets 

that will further add to the long-term fiscal challenges 

that we face as a Nation; 


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•HRES 424 IH 

Whereas any efforts to mitigate the risks of, prepare for, or 

otherwise address our changing climate and its effects 

should not constrain the United States economy, especially in regards to global competitiveness; and 

Whereas there is increasing recognition that we can and must 

take meaningful and responsible action now to address 

this issue: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives commits 

2 to working constructively, using our tradition of American 

3 ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and 

4 support economically viable, and broadly supported private 

5 and public solutions to study and address the causes and 

6 effects of measured changes to our global and regional cli7 mates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance 

8 human activities that have been found to have an impact. 

Æ 


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